Man kidnapped in the Netherlands last week escapes captors, rescued in Belgium

A man abducted in the Netherlands last week Sunday has been found safe in Belgium. He managed to escape from his captors on Wednesday and is in good health, the police announced. So far, no arrests have been made.

The 27-year-old Lakshan N. was reported missing on Sunday, November 26. He was last seen at around 10:30 a.m. near Vigelandstraat in The Hague. “From the moment the missing person was reported, the police suspected that Lakshan was being held somewhere against his will,” the police said.

The police did not say why they immediately thought the man had been abducted. But sources told Parool that he was kidnapped as part of a conflict over a stolen shipment of cocaine. The shipment of over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine was stolen from the port of Antwerp on October 25. According to the newspaper, criminals from Amsterdam, Vlaardingen, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Dubai are involved in the conflict.

After sharing N.’s photo and appealing for information, several tips led the police to his car in a parking lot on the New Yorksingel in The Hague last week Wednesday, but they found no trace of the man himself.

Today, he managed to get away from his captors. According to the police, he was held hostage in a home in Belgium. “The police, together with the Belgian authorities, will continue the investigation into those involved in this kidnapping,” the police said.